WASHINGTON (Thursday, April 18, 2013) - As the trade association representing nearly every shareholder-owned electric utility in the United States, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for its bipartisan passage today of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) by a vote of 288-127. While CISPA is not designed to address every issue in the cybersecurity debate, it is an essential step in protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure.

EEI’s member companies are committed to protecting the nation’s electric grid from cyber threats and to enhancing its cyber defenses. CISPA will facilitate close coordination between the private sector and the government, as well as among each other, in defense of critical infrastructure. Second, it will address legal and logistical barriers that have limited the sharing of cyber threat information between the public and private sectors. Third, and most important to the electric power industry, the bill will supplement, not reinvent, the government-industry partnerships that already exist.

CISPA provides the necessary framework to address the growing cyber threats our nation and the private sector face each and every day. Chairman Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Dutch Ruppersberger deserve special recognition for their willingness to work with many stakeholders and in true bipartisan fashion. We encourage Senators of both parties to support and pass this important piece of legislation and send to the President for signature